Ameer Abdullah on preseason debut: “I was a little rusty”

Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah impressed in his preseason debut, but the rookie wasn’t overly thrilled with the performance.

While fans and analysts lauded his strong day against the New York Jets, according to the Lions official site, Abdullah called his performance “by no means great.” He said:

“I think my first preseason game went OK, borderline good, but by no means great. I missed a lot of holes. I was a little rusty, but that’s what I expected getting back into game shape, seeing things at game speed again. There was definitely a lot to learn from. I have a good idea of how the competition will be across the league, what to expect on Sundays and Mondays.”

The Nebraska product’s hype train reached a new speed following the 67-yard performance, but it’s encouraging to see Abdullah isn’t caught up in the praise.

After all, he’s not even the starter. Abdullah has taken advantage of the extra snaps allowed due to Joique Bell’s Achilles injury. Regardless, Detroit has a promising young back pushing for Bell’s job.

Abdullah’s highlight-reel run was a 45-yard gain on a misdirection where he juked two Jets defenders at the line of scrimmage and outran three more before Darrelle Revis caught up. Bell won’t ever do this:

The Lions return to the field on Thursday, Aug. 20, against the Washington football team, and if Abdullah shakes off a little more rust, he should have another stellar game.